Sports
Hockey

Rangers defenceman John Moore knocks Canadiens winger Dale Weise to the ice during first period action in Game 5 of the Eastern final at Montreal on Tuesday. Moore was suspended two games for a later hit on Weise. (Pierre-Paul Poulin/QMI Agency)

Related Stories

“Doesn’t matter,” the New York Rangers coach told reporters on Thursday morning when he was asked about his thoughts on the two-game suspension issued to defenceman John Moore.

“So I don’t have any reaction.”

Moore wasn’t in the lineup on Thursday night for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final against the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden after he was given a forced vacation by the National Hockey League. The suspension was levied on Wednesday, a day after Moore’s late hit on Canadiens forward Dale Weise in Game 5.

When asked about the incident on Wednesday, Vigneault had indicated that he didn’t think a suspension was probable. Moore received a match penalty on the play. Raphael Diaz took Moore’s spot on the blue line on Thursday.

Weise was not in Montreal’s lineup in Game 6, but Canadiens coach Michel Therrien didn’t concur with the idea that Weise had a head injury, instead saying it was a “body injury.” Never mind that Weise was woozy after the hit and that there have been reports he suffered a concussion.

Weise returned to the game on Tuesday after he was hit by Moore. So why was he not able to stay in uniform for Game 6?

“After the hit he went to meet the doctors and he was feeling fine about finishing the game,” Therrien said. “For us, what’s really important is player safety. It has been like that all season and it’s not going to change.

“For a player not to be able to play the next game, that’s something we could see on a regular basis. You can see (the Rangers’ Derek) Stepan finished a game with a broken jaw, miss Game 4, and come back after his operation. Those are the things you see at this time of year.

“We trust our doctor (on Weise’s condition). When they’re saying he is good to go, he is good to go.”